IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 April 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150002408 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests an exception to policy (ETP) to retain a $20,000.00 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) incentive.

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  He enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard (OHARNG) in August 1999 in military occupational specialty (MOS) 18D (Special Forces Medical Sergeant) while attending the University of Ohio.  He was injured during the first phase of the special forces qualification training course.

	b.  He attended college until he was deployed in 2002.  He had no need to use his SLRP incentive at the time and he did not know there was a problem with his eligibility for the incentive.  He was subsequently reclassified to MOS 42A (Human Resources Specialist) after his deployment to Kuwait and Kosovo in 2002 to 2003.

	c.  He was deployed and/or serving on active duty for most of the period between 2002 and 2007 and he did not attend college during this period.  He had a break in service in 2004 and he worked in the private sector.

	d.  While deployed to Iraq in 2005 to 2006, his MOS 42A position was converted to an Active Guard Reserve position.  He was displaced and he was able to keep the reenlistment bonus he received for his 2005 reenlistment and, therefore, qualified to keep his SLRP incentive had the paperwork been handled correctly.

	e.  He resumed classes on a full-time basis at Ohio State University in the spring of 2007 until the winter semester of 2009.

	f.  The State Incentive Manager did not inform him that he needed to complete an additional addendum at the time of his reenlistment in March 2005 even though he told her he wanted to receive the SLRP incentive.  He discovered years later after inquiring and applying for the SLRP that he needed an SLRP addendum.

	g.  He was initially told he needed to have his 23 March 2005 reenlistment contract voided and to complete another 6-year reenlistment contract.  He filed a complaint with the OHARNG Inspector General (IG) about his situation and this resulted in only having to sign an SLRP addendum, dated 3 April 2007.  The intended result was reached despite no official report and he was told the incentive would be backdated to his 23 March 2005 reenlistment and the problem was resolved.

	h.  The problem continued and his 2 April 2007 SLRP addendum contained a number of discrepancies, such as missing required initials, unit address, and signature date, and the SLRP addendum was not backdated to 23 March 2005.  He completed the form in the presence of the incentives manager at the time and if there were problems with the form it is because it was not reviewed or completed properly.  His intent was to do everything properly to receive the SLRP incentive and the IG ruled in his favor and offered a resolution by having him complete the SLRP addendum in 2007.

	i.  In 2009, he decided to reattempt completing the special forces qualification training course and he was accepted into an MOS 18E (Special Forces Communications Sergeant) position where he remained until his expiration term of service in August 2012.

	j.  He is presently serving in the West Virginia Army National Guard (WVARNG) in MOS 42A and is a Congressional staffer.

3.  The applicant provides:

* self-authored statement
* email
* two National Guard Bureau (NGB) memoranda, dated 15 and 16 March 2013
* ETP request, dated 27 January 2015



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 21 April 1993.

2.  In conjunction with his enlistment, he executed a DA Form 5261-4-R (Selected Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP) – Enlistment Bonus Addendum), dated 21 April 1993, that shows he enlisted for MOS 75D (Personnel Records Specialist) which was approved for a maximum of $10,000.00 in loan repayments.

3.  His DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II) shows he was awarded MOS 75D on 9 February 1994.

4.  On 27 December 1997, he was accepted in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship Program.

5.  On 11 December 1998, he was transferred to the USAR Control Group (Individual Ready Reserve). 

6.  On 18 August 1999, he was released from the USAR for enlistment in the OHARNG.

7.  On 19 August 1999, he enlisted in the OHARNG for a 3-year period.  In connection with his enlistment, he executed:

* an Annex A (Enlistment/ Reenlistment Agreement – ARNG), dated 2 August 1999, that shows he acknowledged he would undergo training in MOS 18D
* a Statement of Understanding - OHARNG Scholarship Program, dated 2 August 1999, that shows his tuition would be paid if he attended a State-assisted institution during State Fiscal Year 2000 and 2001

8.  On 23 March 2005, the applicant extended his enlistment for 6 years.  His DA Form 4836 (Oath of Extension of Enlistment or Reenlistment) shows the bonus control number RXXXXX47OH for a $15,000.00 bonus.

9.  A DA Form 4187 (Personnel Actions), dated 14 July 2006, shows the applicant was displaced by an Active Guard Reserve hire and there was no duty position available to place him in.  The applicant needed to be assigned to an E-5 MOS 42A position.

10.  His records contain an Annex S (SLRP Addendum), dated 3 April 2007.  This SLRP Addendum shows:

* he served 3 consecutive years in the ARNG and he was immediately reenlisting/extending for a term of service of 6 years in the ARNG
* he was reenlisting/extending in a valid vacancy in unit identification code TNXX0 in critical skill MOS 42A and he had to remain in the contracted MOS for the first 3 years of his contract
* he had two existing loans in the amount of $24,496.87 and the total amount of repayment for qualifying loans would not exceed $18,000.00
* termination of the SLRP would occur if he voluntarily transferred out of his contract MOS and/or SLRP eligible unit prior to his 3-year anniversary
* the SLRP Addendum was certified by the State Incentive Manager and contained the SLRP control number SXXXXXX33OH

11.  On 22 July 2011, he extended his enlistment for a 1-year period.

12.  On 18 August 2012, he was honorably discharged from the OHARNG.

13.  On 19 August 2012, he enlisted in the WVARNG for a 3-year period.  He is presently serving in the WVARNG in the rank of sergeant first class.

14.  On 20 November 2012, the applicant provided a self-authored memorandum to the Headquarters Company, WVARNG, explaining the circumstances surrounding his attempts to obtain his SLRP incentive.

15.  The applicant provided a copy of an email from the Chief, Incentive Oversight Branch, NGB, dated 12 February 2015 that shows the ETP request was completed by the ARNG Directorate on behalf of the Soldier in 2011 without the State ARNG requesting it in order to answer a Congressional request.  The State ARNG sent the request forward to formally request the ETP as there was no change in the original determination. 

16.  On 15 March and 16 March 2013, the NGB ARNG Deputy G-1 denied the applicant's ETP request for retention of his $20,000.00 SLRP and stated relief from recoupment was granted.  He further stated the applicant extended his enlistment on 23 March 2005; however, the bonus control number and the SLRP Addendum were not executed until 3 April 2007.  Therefore, the intent of the incentive at the time of extension cannot be validated as having been offered to him on 23 March 2005.

17.  On 27 January 2015, the WVARNG Military Personnel Officer submitted an ETP request to the Chief, Guard Strength Education, NGB.  This official stated:

	a.  The SLRP Addendum was missing from the applicant's 23 March 2005 extension documentation.

	b.  The applicant advised the reenlistment official that he wanted the SLRP incentive in his reenlistment contract; however, the bonus control number was not requested and the SLRP Addendum was not processed on the extension date as required by the incentive policy.  Years later, he was given an SLRP Addendum to complete, but it was not filled out completely.  The bonus control number was also entered into the incentives program on 3 April 2007.

	c.  Two $3,000.00 repayments were processed on 23 May 2007 for Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007 and the applicant is requesting repayments for Fiscal Years 2008 through 2011.

18.  His records are void of and he failed to provide evidence of an IG report or IG-directed actions.

19.  Army Regulation 135-7 (Incentive Programs) restricts the SLRP to those Reserve Soldiers who either enlist or reenlist for a skill or unit approved by the Department of the Army and disseminated to the field by a list of military occupational specialties and units which is updated on a periodic basis.  This educational incentive may only be elected at the time of enlistment or reenlistment.  This incentive pays a limited sum of money to a lending institution on the anniversary date of an enlistment or reenlistment.  These payments continue on a yearly basis unless the Soldier loses eligibility by no longer serving in the approved MOS or unit.  Entitlement to the SLRP will stop if the Soldier is appointed as a commissioned officer or warrant officer.

20.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, the law which provides for this Board, states, "The Secretary may pay from applicable current appropriations a claim for the loss of pay, allowances, compensation, emoluments, or other pecuniary benefits, or the repayment of a fine or forfeiture, if, as a result of correcting a record under this section, the amount is found to be due the claimant on account of his or another's service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, as the case may be."

21.  NGB memorandum, subject:  Fiscal Year (FY) 05 SRIP Policy Guidance for 14 December 2004 – 30 September 2005 (Policy Number 05-02), dated 14 December 2004, states Soldiers must not have received the SLRP as an enlistment, reenlistment, or extension option in the Selected Reserve in the past.  A Solider reenlisting or extending per National Guard Regulation 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management), chapter 7, will not be authorized payment on loans established after the contract has been signed.  Loans established after the date of reenlistment or extension are not eligible for the SLRP.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for an ETP to retain his $20,000.00 SLRP incentive was carefully considered. 

2.  Records show the applicant received a $10,000.00 SLRP incentive when he enlisted on 21 April 1993.

3.  In accordance with NGB SRIP Policy Number 05-02, the applicant was ineligible for the SLRP incentive offered on 3 April 2007 based on his receipt of a previous SLRP incentive granted in 1993.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis to grant the requested relief.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x___  ____x___  ____x ___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      _______ _   _x______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150002408



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150002408



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